BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND: MORE ROCKS AND MORE RUINS!

Sunday, August 23, 2026
Belfast, Ireland
64F and mostly cloudy, some sun

I keep wondering when we are going to get to a warm port. Today was not as cold as 2 days ago, but we dressed in layers again.  This morning was a 6 a.m. wake up so we could be at the port for our private tour to Giants Causeway. I think I am going to need to learn how to write a shorter blog—you probably think I include every photo that I take, but I do not!!  I have gotten very good at shooting pix out of bus windows. At least I think so. I have been disappointed in my photography skills—at one time I switched to my Android phone for two days but went back to the DSLR for what I thought were better photos.

So today, since we have already visited Belfast (2024) and the fabulous Titanic Museum, as well as St. George’s Market, we opted for a Giant's Causeway tour. More rocks and ruins!

Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland is a world-renowned cruise destination famous for its maritime history, vibrant street art, and warm hospitality. Docking at the Belfast Cruise Terminal put us right at the doorstep of the city's spectacular industrial shipyard heritage, most notably as the birthplace of the RMS Titanic.  Belfast has an urban population of approximately 345,000 residents, with the greater metropolitan area encompassing around 675,000 people.  Northern Ireland has a population of 1.5 million people. 

Today our tour was with Best Price Shore Excursions (which was probably part of Viator). Our tour guide was Angelina, a native of County Antrim/Belfast. I asked her if she watched the BBC TV show, Derry Girls, because her humor reminded me of the characters in that show. She did watch the show and attended an all-girls Catholic school too!

By 8:30 a.m. off we went on a comfortable bus into the countryside of Northern Island along the North Antrim Coast. The Irish landscape that we saw today was not as rocky as the Outer Hebrides.  Hedge fences and stone fences dotted the countryside, some were pastures for sheep, others for cattle. Pine and maple trees, patches of peat. There were a lot more sheep in the pastures today.

Irish Gaelic is the native language, mixed in with Scot Gaelic, and Hibernian English. Angelina was easy to understand most of the time! She spoke of how superstitious the Irish are and that they truly believe in fairies. She showed us a few Fairy Trees along the route, and people do not dare do anything to harm them. (mostly black or white Hawthorne, some maple). Such trees stand alone in a pasture or property. Of course, I did not get a photo of any fairy tree.

Irish history is certainly convoluted, and it is difficult to put it all together—she spoke briefly of the past 1000 years. Currently Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom--monetary system is the Pound Sterling. Ireland is part of the European Union--monetary system is Euros.

She did speak of the “Potato Blight” or “Great Hunger” of the 1840s.  They do not call it famine because there was plenty of food. The renters had to pay the landowners with their crops and livestock which were exported from Ireland during the famine. The refusal of London to ban such exports was a continuing source of controversy.  It is probably this situation which contributed to the Irish issue in British politics, the anti-British sentiment, intensifying Irish nationalism, and the desire for independence. It certainly was a turning point.

Our first stop was Dunluce Castle, first built by the Anglo Normans. Subsequently many chieftains/clans lived in the castle until it was abandoned in 1690.  It is thought to be the inspiration for Cair Paravel in Chronicles of Narnia. Exterior shots were used in Game of Thrones for Pyke, House of Greyjoy. In 1973 its image was used in the inner fold of the Led Zeppelin album, Houses of the Holy.

Dunluce Castle ruins

Dunluce  Castle-closer

According to legend, an Irish Giant and a Scottish Giant Giants Causeway were building a stone bridge to confront each other. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant%27s_Causeway    In reality, the Giant’s Causeway is an area of approximately 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption during the Paleogene period, 50-60 million years ago. Supposedly the cold air caused the unusual result.  This unique feature is one of Ireland’s most iconic places where myth and geology intertwine!

Neither TK nor I played on the rocks

TK makes a perfect model!

As rocks go, they are pretty cool!

I am so glad that we took a shuttle to the Causeway, a mile downhill (1 pound/each) That meant we could take the shuttle back uphill. I need to retain my energy!  That also meant we had enough energy to have coffee and sweets at the nearby hotel—a rather posh hotel!

A tidy breakfast: raspberry scone, clotted cream,

strawberry jam, butter, and black coffee

Sticky toffee pudding for TK

I wonder why no one in our group wanted to try the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge that connects the mainland to Carrick-a-Rede, a tiny island. I could see stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean without doing that! The first rope bridge was built over 350 years ago by salmon fishermen, a part of the local salmon fishing heritage

Rope Bridge

(that's an 80 ft. drop by the way)

Unidentified island near Carrick-a-Rede

Our final stop was Ballycastle, a small seaside town with great restaurants. We enjoyed fish ‘n’ chips here, fresh haddock from the sea!

Our view while waiting to eat at Salt House

Fish n Chips at Salt House Restaurant

Ballycastle, Ireland

some fries are missing

Our view from inside Salt House Restaurant

Entrance and landscape

Closeup-Identified by TK's app as Agapanthus

Finally, we took a tour of the area of great unrest in Belfast---even today one of the streets has its side’s views, and the opposite has other views.  Angelina said that when she was 11 years old (in 1969) she was sent to live with a family (not her own) to be safe, and our bus driver said he was 9 and was sent to Boston.  This period was called the “Troubles.”  The wall art on both sides of the street were remarkable. TK took a few photos. I do not think every Belfast visitor sees this. Angelina said there is still controversy, and it isn’t over religion—some want to be  united with Ireland again, and others want to stay with the UK.

"The Ulster State

Their footprints and songs

The Appalachian Trail"

--an example of the wall art--

It was a good day in Belfast!

TK’s Takes: No swimming pools today, but some very nice single family homes. He has never seen so much livestock in two days, sheep, cattle, one pig, some horses—mostly sheep, and no goats. He is a city boy after all.  Giant’s Causeway is a good place to exercise if you want to exercise.

STORNAWAY, ISLE OF LEWIS, OUTER HEBRIDES, SCOTLAND--PEAT AND COWS AND SHEEP AND TWEED!

Saturday, August 22, 2026
Stornaway, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
61F, cloudy then some sun

Janie at Callanish I

Standing Stones

What a learning curve for us! After the Shetland Islands, here we were in the Outer Hebrides.

Now that we have visited Scotland’s Orkney, Shetland Islands, and the Hebrides, we can almost see the scope of Scotland’s rich island history and diverse geography.  The islands are known for their cultural significance, influenced by Celtic, Norse (aka Vikings), and English-speaking people. I am trying to sort it all out.

Stornoway is the capital of the Isle of Lewis with dramatic coastlines, Iron Age engineering, and rich Viking folklore included! It is a compact town with a population of roughly 7,000 residents, making it the largest settlement in the Outer Hebrides. Outer Hebrides has a population of 26,000. 

Our private tour guide, Gordon, of Hebridean Island Tours, was superb as he guided us to many special sites.  We avoided bus traffic and crowds at every stop, and he even arranged for no rain! www.hebrideanisletours.co.uk

On the road, Gordon pointed out that the landscape was made up of a lot of peat in the area we were passing through. Peat is an organic soil, which contains more than 60% organic matter and exceeds 20 inches in depth. Add to the things I did not know: Peat bogs are essential to the environment, holding twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests. In this area one can no longer harvest peat except for one’s own use as fuel for the home. Gordon said that sheep and red deer have adapted to peat fields, few other animals have.

Peat

Close up of peat

TK said it had no smell

French and Spanish hunters come to this area to hunt the red deer, which have been here since the Vikings. The deer are over populated—hunting license required.  There are no predators, no foxes, wolves, bears.

Our first stop was the Callanish Stones (Callanish I). No one else in the van wanted to visit the stones, so I paid the fee—I was not going to miss such Neolithic stones that predate Stonehenge by 2000 years. It is the oldest man made rock formation on earth!  The feeling there is just as sacred as at Stonehenge. No one knows why the stones were placed as they were or why here. 

The stones are Lewisian Gneiss and are local, as compared to Stonehenge where the stones are from Wales, England, and Scotland.  Callanish I consists of a stone circle of 13 stones with a monolith near the middle. The tallest stone is 12 ft. high and weighs about 7 tons. Within the circle is a chambered tomb.  I love mysteries and I bought a book there to help me understand, Contemplating Calanais, A Guide to Standing Stones, by Ian McHardy.

Callanish I

Callanish I

Callanish I

Callanish I

I know that's a lot of rocks, but 

they are fascinating to me

The history, the mystery!

Nearby was Callanish III, newly discovered

Poppies growing freeling nearby

Heather for Friend H

We have seen lots of Heather!

This gives you a good idea of what

the countryside looks like

Can you make out the 

Hebridean ewes? Very woolly!

Dun Carloway

We passed by the Dun Carloway “broch,” or roundhouse, an Iron Age sort of fort first used by Vikings, then two clans fought over it in the 1600s, the Morrison clan and the MacAuley clan.

More landscape--there are few trees

as the Vikings used trees to make their ships

Pine trees have been planted, but the 

wind prohibits them from growing properly

A blackhouse

Village

Close up of thatched roof

Beds!

Hearth

Old loom

The Arnol was once a small township with families that were like tenant farmers for centuries. They lived in “blackhouses” with thatched roofs, a traditional dwelling for centuries. The one we visited today was still used in the 1960s. There were double walls of rough stone, packed with earth and peat between them-no mortar. The walls would be five or six ft. thick because of the chill from the nearby North Atlantic.  There was a central hearth in the living area, burning. The roof was a frame of timber, layered with turf then thatched with heather, rushes, or straw.

Black face sheep--leisurely by the road

their wool is used for Harris Tweed

They obviously broke out of their fence!

Freedom!

We were very lucky to see

a Highland cow-usually they are

in the hills this time of year

Manx Loaghtan

We were also very lucky to see this ram

This breed's male has four horns--

very intimidating

The Butt of Lewis Lighthouse is a striking landmark that stands at Rubha Robhanais, the northernmost point of the Isle of Lewis in Outer Hebrides and overlooks the North Atlantic Ocean. It was originally built by the Stevenson family (Robert Louis Stevenson’s grandfather) in 1862.  It is now automated has has recorded the highest wind in the United Kingdom.

Butte of Lewis Lighthouse 

View from the grounds

North Atlantic

Dalmore Beach

Our final stop was the town of Stornoway. Shopping! For 45 minutes. In an area noted for its Harris tweed (think the Isles of Lewis and Harris). Such beautiful handwoven material, coats, scarves, hats, purses, wallets, oh my. I ran in and out of shops with TK trailing behind. I wonder if there is such a thing as a shopping tour in the ports. Sign me up! 

Castle in Stornaway--more research

Tweed Shop

Dear Readers, I think you can tell that I love history and learning new things, but I love to look at all sorts of things for sale from each of the ports.

Time for TK’s Takes!

TK’s Takes: He did not see any swimming pools at any houses, but almost all the houses had clothes on clothes lines. He saw 3 dolphins off our starboard balcony after dinner. No trees to speak of. They do not grow well. Replanting has been attempted. No farms to speak of—hay bales, horses, sheep (Hebridean, Manx Loaghtan), a few Highlander cows.  Lots of dogs, one cat.